Getting more Christmassy than businessy

As far as all things 'business' I'm feeling mainly a bit down-hearted with it all this week. I feel as though I'm going no-where fast. TPT still haven't allocated me a mentor (which I could really use right about now). I'm finding it impossible to get in contact with anyone at all from TPT, the Trust leader is out of the office until mid-January. Slightly frustrating, especially as I know other people from the PT course have actually met with their mentor's. I was promised I'd meet mine over a month ago. 


But, on the other hand, this week a good friend asked me if I've ever looked at how many times the blog has been viewed. I hadn't. Truth is; I didn't even know how to access that info. I soon learned that was very quick and easy to do. I was shocked to discover it's had nearly 900 hits! It gave me the little confidence boost I needed. Here's to hoping the actual business will be a hit too!


This time of year has made me think heavily about crafts that I would like to see children doing at Eat-n-Mess one day....hopefully next Christmas.


Pomanders. These will be on offer every Christmas. Not only is it an easy one for kids, it will also make the whole place smell fantastically festive and fresh. Older children can get creative with making patterns with the cloves. I like to stick in as many as possible purely because it gives a stronger aroma.

Sorry, this isn't a great photo but's the best I can do with my trusty digital camera. I remember making these in primary school so that's proof that young children can make these. I recall my Mother hanging them in our airing cupboard.


One thing that's been taking up my time of late but in a good, fun way is making some edible gifts. So I thought I'd share in case you too want to make someone something with a personal touch but don't know what.

Cranberry chutney

Caramelised red onion chutney (so easy to make).

In my opinion you can't have Christmas without having mince pies. So some homemade pies will be on the Eat-n-Mess menu during the holiday period. Shop bought mince pie's just don't cut it. Yes, I am a mince pie snob.....blame my Mother.

Some of my (Grandmother's recipe) mince pies.

I'm not in the habit of taking photograph's of food I've made, partly because I haven't got a posh camera to do the food justice and partly because I'm usually too busy eating it! So, this isn't great quality either as I just snapped these with my phone, but you get the idea.